Hope you like a long, drawn-out campaign, GOP faithful! Because three years out from choosing a nominee to run in the 2016 presidential race, Republican voters aren't showing any inclination toward picking a favorite yet.

Just trailing Rubio in the poll was ex-vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, with 17 percent, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, at 14 percent.

The poll, which surveyed 1,711 registered voters (including more than 700 Republicans), has a sizable 3 percent margin of error, though. So Rubio's lead is less the headline here than the fact that he's all but tied with Ryan and that Christie with Jeb are not too far behind in the early running for the GOP nod.

"Three years before the nominating process, the Republicans have no clear favorite," Peter A. Brown, the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute's assistant director, says in a release.

The poll also took voter temperature regarding the two parties and each of their congressional delegations. Democrats fared better than Republicans, with a 44 percent disapproval rating overall, and 59 percent disapproving of their representatives in Congress.

Not great numbers, but that's a stunning nod of approval compared with the GOP's results. The survey shows 52 percent disapproved of the party overall and an eye-opening 19 percent for versus 71 percent against their congressional work.

"The Republican brand is essentially in the toilet these days," Brown says, "but it's worth remembering that the Democrats faced a similar situation in the late 1980s and got their house in order and returned to power in short order."

Tim Elfrink is an award-winning investigative reporter, the managing editor of the Miami New Times and the co-author of "Blood Sport: Alex Rodriguez and the Quest to End Baseball's Steroid Era." Since 2008, he's written in-depth pieces on police corruption, fatal shootings and social justice issues across South Florida. He's won the George Polk Award and has been a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.